Two teams try to get the ball into the other team’s goal, mostly using their feet. It’s the most popular sport on the planet.
The basics
The goal: score more goals than the other team.
Each team has 11 players on the field. Apart from throw-ins, only the goalkeeper may handle the ball, and only inside their own penalty area.
A game lasts 90 minutes, two 45-minute halves, plus stoppage time added by the referee.
It’s a goal when the whole ball crosses the goal line, between the posts and under the crossbar.
Key rule, offside: at the moment a teammate passes to you, you can’t be in the other team’s half and closer to their goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last opponent.
It’s played on a natural or artificial grass field about 110 yards (100 m) long.
Fun facts
English referee Ken Aston came up with yellow and red cards while waiting at a traffic light. They debuted at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where no player was shown a red.
Mexico is the first country to host three men’s World Cups: 1970, 1986 and 2026. Estadio Azteca is the first stadium to host three World Cup opening matches.
The Football Association was founded in London in 1863 and wrote its Laws of the Game that same year, the basis of soccer today. There were just 13 laws.